Raw pasta and sauce

Have you ever tried eating raw food diet, not salads but trying to eat salads with a twist. I love raw vegetables in any form... with a little dressing I wont complain if I have to eat it all the time. Throwing a twist on it by making pasta and a sauce gives it much more oomph. I saw this recipe while browsing somewhere and made it the same day. I just love this recipe for the ease of making and and the taste it packs. If you hate eating vegetables, try this recipe, you may just change your mind about them. This is a raw vegan recipe, if you want you can add a bit of Parmesan cheese to it. 

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

1. Zucchini: 2 medium sized
2. Plum Tomato: 2
3. Red bell pepper: 1 medium sized
4. Sun dried tomatoes -4
5. Garlic - a small clove, peeled or 1/4 tsp paste
6. Red wine vinegar/plain vinegar - 2 tsp
7. Salt - 1/4 tsp or 2 pinches
8. Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
9. Olive oil/any oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

• Chop the tips of zucchini and peel the skin off and dispose it. Continue peeling the flesh of the zucchini into strips till you end up at the seeds.. do not use it, dispose. Put the peeled strips in a bowl and refrigerate till you make the sauce.
• If you do not have pre-marinated sun dried tomatoes either in oil or water. Boil water and soak them for about 1/2 hour before you would use them.
• To make the sauce, chop all the vegetables into big chunks and make a smooth paste in the blender by adding all the ingredients together. Sauce is ready.
• Take the peeled zucchini pasta, arrange it on a plate and pour some sauce on top and chomp it down.. :) .Make sure to put the sauce right before you would eat, other wise it gets soggy and you wont like it much. 

Tips:

Kids can help you peel zucchini, so let them do it if they want to.. parents and kids can certainly have fun in the kitchen while making this recipe.

If you do not have zucchini try using cucumber... it will be slightly more watery, but is a good substitute. Since Zucchini and cucumber do not have much of taste on their own, they absorb the taste of the sauce well.

Lasagna

I love Italian food. I love the way ingredients get enhanced in the dish. Full of flavour and aroma, this cuisine had my tongue at the first bite... ooo i feel like eating some lasagna now. There are a gazillion ways of making lasagna, this way is certainly low fat, high fiber, high on taste and vegetarian too. If you want, you can make it vegan by using vegan cheese, as simple as that.

Prep time: 30 minutes

cook time: 45 minutes

servings: upto 5

Ingredients:

1. Lasagna noodles - 6 (whole wheat/ multigrain/ whole grain pasta)

2. Plum tomatoes - 3 to 4 chopped

3. Tomato paste - 2 6oz cans

4. Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped

5. Garlic - 3 to 4 pods, grated or minced (approx 1 tbsp)

6. Basil dry - 2 to 3 tsp (use fresh if on hand, you will need more about 2 tbsp)

7. Black Olive slices - 2 to 3 tbsp, drained.

8. Green olive slices - 2 to 3 tbsp, drained.

9. Sundried tomatoes in oil - 5 to 6 finely chopped

10. Cayenne/chilli flakes - to taste

11. Ground black pepper - 1/4 tsp or more if you want.

12. Parsley dry - 3 tsp (use fresh if on hand, you will need more about 2 tbsp)

13. Parmesan cheese (skim)- 1/4 cup grated

14. Skim Mozzarella cheese - 1/2 cup grated

15. Skim Feta Cheese - 1/4 cup (optional)

16. Olive oil - 2 tbsp

17. Salt to taste.

16. Water as required to boil pasta and for sauce.

 Method:

1. Boil sufficient water to cook pasta noodles by adding adequate amount of salt and oil. Cook the noodles according to instructions on the box.

2. Heat oil in a pot on medium heat, add dry basil and parsley with garlic and saute for a few seconds.If using fresh, add them once the sauce is well done and stir them in well.

3. Add onions, a pinch of salt and saute till it turns slightly golden brown. close the lid on pot for faster cooking.

4. Add sundried tomatoes and olives and saute for a minute or two and add chilli/cayenne and black pepper at this point and stir it in well.

5. Add tomatoes, stir, close the lid on the pot and let it sweat well.

6. add the tomato paste and mix it well with the ingredients in the pot. 

7. add water little by little, till it gets saucy and let it boil for a few minutes, about 5 to 7 minutes till it gets slightly thick. the right consistency would be of the ketchup. 

8. In a oven safe tray layer the sauce first, drizzle feta cheese and layer noodles on top. Next layer some more sauce and drizzle Parmesan cheese, place the noodles on top and layer the remaining sauce and sprinkle all the mozzarella cheese evenly. Cover the tray with foil.

9. Preheat oven on 350F for 10 minutes, place the try in and let it cook for 15 minutes. Take out the tray and pull the foil off then again place it in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes so that the top gets slightly golden brown.

10. pull it out and cut same size pieces and dig in... enjoy your lasagna.

Tips:

1. You can reduce oil and amount of cheese if you want.

2. Use very little salt, just 1/2 tsp goes very far in the sauce.... salt is to enhance the flavours of the ingredients, not to mask them.

3. Use some oil from sundried tomatoes to make the sauce, it makes it so much better.